The morning started off as usual; students were getting up and heading to their classes, heading to their study areas before their classes when they received an email at around 9:02 saying at 8:48, there were two armed robbers on campus near Reeve Union and they were heading towards Fletcher resident hall. The email updates were very sparse, as students on campus only received these after they either were already in the building where the attempted robbery happened or were on their way to class, probably unaware that there was an armed robbery occurring. Titan Alerts were sent out as well with the emails, but yet again, they were sparse and not as quick as they should’ve been.
22 minutes after we had received the first email (which remind you, was almost twenty minutes after the incident happened), we received another email which entailed the description of one of the suspects; Suspect being a black male, wearing dark jeans, dark hoodie, described as thin and short, and was wearing Adidas kicks. Shortly after that, we received another email in regards to the other suspect; Suspect was a white male, wearing a black sweatshirt (light hoodie?), brown ski mask and he was armed as well. Students didn't receive the last email, "securing our safety", until about 9:38, which was about almost an hour after the incident initially happened. These were the only notifications the student body was given in regards to the dangerous occurrence.
No sirens, no police to come into classrooms to alert students that this was happening. The campus was not placed on a lock-down, and students were not told to stay in their dorms until this issue was resolved. Classes were still in session, acting like nothing happened.
Now, I understand that the suspects are at large, and they're no longer a threat to campus, according to police, but how are we supposed to go on with our days feeling safe even walking around from class to class on campus knowing something like this happened? When someone hears "armed robbery", our initial instinct is to put the safety of ourselves and our peers first, even if was deemed a false alarm. But, the situation was NOT a false alarm, it was a real happening and the police even CONFIRMED there were firearms present with the suspects and the best they can do is send out a Titan Alert?
We are very lucky that this situation went the way it did. What would've happened if one of them opened fire and harm the student body? How would the police look? With all the mass shootings happening in our country, especially on school grounds, law enforcement needs to be more aware of what's going on, and understand that it's very easy for someone to obtain a firearm and walk onto a campus and start shooting at whatever and whoever they feel like.
They got away. Law enforcement did not apprehend the suspects, they are still on the run. Police did not react in the right way, and students were feeling very unprotected.
An email was sent out after the incident happened where they essentially justified their reasoning as to why they did not take extra safety measures when it came to the armed robbery. Apparently, since it happened 'so quick', law enforcement did not feel the need to take further action and they felt that the Titan Alert was enough warning for the student body and staff.
I am disappointed in UW-Oshkosh's police department and the way they handled this situation, and I hope that they learn from this occurrence that safety needs to come first and that safety can't be ensured through a text message.
